Who is a virtual customer agent?
It’s no secret that the virtual customer service industry has grown over the last few years due to technological innovations and the need to free-up the work station.
The recent outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has also led many businesses to adopt virtual workings, which further intensify the need to hire virtual customer service agents.
Hiring virtual customer service agents (VCAs) can lessen the work pressure of running a business and save business owners some money.
Who are virtual customer agents, and what are their job descriptions?
A virtual agent, as described by Chatbots.org, is “a computer-generated, animated, artificial intelligence virtual character that serves as an online customer service representative. It leads an intelligent conversation with users, responds to their questions and performs good non-verbal behaviour.”
The term “virtual customer agent” is used to refer to a human contact centre or customer service agent who works from a remote location outside of an organization’s physical building.
The intelligent virtual customer agent can answer customers’ questions and provide information on a company’s products and services.
What are the duties of virtual customer service agents?
A virtual customer agent performs a host of functions such as email management, online customer support, social media marketing, and other tasks that require remote work.
From providing insights about a product order to cancelling a financial transaction and issuing a refund, VCAs can provide customers with all the information they need as well as resolve complex issues.
Here are other duties of virtual customer service agents:
- Virtual administrative support
- Social media marketing/management
- Data entry management.
Why should you hire a virtual customer assistant?
Hiring a VCA comes with a host of benefits. These gains include:
- Help reduce labour cost
- Guarantees 24/7 customer support
- Increases work efficiency by outsourcing non-core tasks
- Helps grow a business’ online visibility
- Free up time for strategic thinking.
Required Skills for Virtual Customer Agents
If you’re looking to leap from your present position to being a virtual customer assistant, having a solid foundation of these five critical skills will help you in a successful transition.
1. Communication skills: ability to professionally deliver product messages to clients using the right words or languages.
2. Comprehension skills: ability to understand the company’s products and services and excellently explain the same to clients.
3. Decision making: ability to quickly decide on how to resolve a customer’s complaint before it escalates.
4. Multitasking: ability to juggle through different situations and provide solutions to customer inquiry.